iPlug wrote:That’s a great combo, and the extra EV range of the LR and supercharging network should make travels pretty smooth. I would go that way if I weren’t so cheap

Using the cost opportunity savings for other eco tech upgrades like decarbonizing our home.

Decarbonizing the home is an excellent use of funds. I'm quite pleased though with my $27k out of pocket to swap out my two ICE cars for two EVs that cover all our driving needs. Between fuel savings from running both cars off our PV and the value of updating one of the cars to a 2018, my upgrade cost is around $8k over the next 10 - 15 years. I consider it money VERY well spent to avoid fossil fuel and to enjoy and support Tesla.

cwerdna wrote:Is this more Hyundai vaporware? Not sure what's going on w/Hyundai EVs in the US (supply problem?) but per https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/, they sold a whopping 49 Ioniqs in the US in Jan 2018 and 3 in Feb. For 2017, it was 432 in total.

I've seen maybe 1 or 2 Ioniq EVs in the wild (might be the same one). The driver at free public L2 charging told me they had to go to So Cal to get it. I asked Hyundai reps at the SJ Auto Show in Jan 2018 and IIRC, they didn't know what was up.

So, within CA and the other states later, I wonder if it'll be like the Ioniq BEV (So Cal only, shipping in meager quantities)? If so, this would be exactly why I've been ignoring the Kona EV buzz and highly skeptical for the US market.

cwerdna wrote:Is this more Hyundai vaporware? Not sure what's going on w/Hyundai EVs in the US (supply problem?) but per https://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/, they sold a whopping 49 Ioniqs in the US in Jan 2018 and 3 in Feb. For 2017, it was 432 in total.

I've seen maybe 1 or 2 Ioniq EVs in the wild (might be the same one). The driver at free public L2 charging told me they had to go to So Cal to get it. I asked Hyundai reps at the SJ Auto Show in Jan 2018 and IIRC, they didn't know what was up.

So, within CA and the other states later, I wonder if it'll be like the Ioniq BEV (So Cal only, shipping in meager quantities)? If so, this would be exactly why I've been ignoring the Kona EV buzz and highly skeptical for the US market.

I suggested in another thread that it would be smart for Hyundai and Kia to only sell the minimum number of PEVs until next April, when GM's fed. tax credit will drop to 50% (assuming they hit 200k in Nov. or Dec.). Why burn through your credits when you'll have a huge competitive price advantage in just a few months?

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Hyundai has done some very good things with the regen controls. I'm virtually certain the Kona is too short for me to sleep in so will be looking at the Niro BEV when it arrives, but this really does look like serious competition for the Bolt, and gets us 20 miles closer to an affordable 300+ mile BEV.

While we all know that the Hyundai Kona Electric, with its 64-kWh battery pack, goes the distance, what we didn’t know until now is how far can you expect it to go in various driving conditions (city, highway, combined).

Luckily, we’ve now got those numbers for you (via the internal database at fueleconomy.gov).

. . . So if all of this is true then it can’t be a compliance car, right? Well, I’m not too sure about that. It’s true that the Kona Electric a really nice overall package. . . .

Now for the bad news. The 2019 Hyundai Kona EV will launch in California only, and at some point months later, become available in the other nine CARB ZEV states. (Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont). I was told by Hyundai representatives that there’s no guarantee they will offer the Kona EV outside of the ZEV states at any point, and that even if they do the dealers in those states likely won’t stock them. However, if a customer in a non-ZEV state wants one, they can special order it from a Hyundai dealer, but they’d need to do so without seeing or test driving it.

Also, I was able to squeeze some exclusive news for InsideEVs from Hyundai senior Manager of eco and performance powertrains, Jerome Gregeois. Gregeois told me that the Hyundai Kona Electrics sent to North America WILL NOT have active battery heating, unlike the cars going to European countries. Instead, they will only have thermal management with active battery cooling, but not heating. That’s a pretty significant sign to me that Hyundai isn’t serious about selling the Kona electric in the Northern states or Canada, where battery pre-conditioning in the winter months is very important.

So, there’s the initial launch in January 2019 in California only, followed at some unspecified point by the other CARB ZEV states, with no clear plan to expand sales beyond those states. With these distribution plans, Hyundai USA clearly isn’t expecting to get a lot of Kona Electrics from the mothership. Add to that the fact that Hyundai is eliminating active battery heating from the Kona Electric for North America, (to save money, I suppose) and I can’t help but get that compliance car feeling in my gut.

And that’s too bad. I like the Kona Electric. Correction, I really like the Kona Electric. So much so that I previously cancelled my Tesla Model 3 reservation and had intended on getting one once they became available in New Jersey. Going on the press drive had two purposes for me. First, of course, to report back here on my initial impressions and secondly, to get a pre-launch test drive and confirm my interest in buying one.

However, the apparent lack of availability, combined with the deletion of battery heating for the US market leaves me a little unsure if a Kona Electric will find its way onto our garage.

Compliance EV? We’ll let you decide.

The lack of battery heating for NA cars is a mistake, but one I expect they'll correct at some point down the road once they can produce enough cars. Still disappointing. I wonder if Kia will do the same with the Niro? It's bad enough that the latter lacks a heat pump, which isn't an issue for routine local use and commuting, but will be for range on road (ski) trips in states like California where temps rarely drop into the teens or below until you're at the ski area, and even then often only at night.

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

. . . So if all of this is true then it can’t be a compliance car, right? Well, I’m not too sure about that. It’s true that the Kona Electric a really nice overall package. . . .

Now for the bad news. The 2019 Hyundai Kona EV will launch in California only, and at some point months later, become available in the other nine CARB ZEV states. (Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont). I was told by Hyundai representatives that there’s no guarantee they will offer the Kona EV outside of the ZEV states at any point, and that even if they do the dealers in those states likely won’t stock them. However, if a customer in a non-ZEV state wants one, they can special order it from a Hyundai dealer, but they’d need to do so without seeing or test driving it.

Also, I was able to squeeze some exclusive news for InsideEVs from Hyundai senior Manager of eco and performance powertrains, Jerome Gregeois. Gregeois told me that the Hyundai Kona Electrics sent to North America WILL NOT have active battery heating, unlike the cars going to European countries. Instead, they will only have thermal management with active battery cooling, but not heating. That’s a pretty significant sign to me that Hyundai isn’t serious about selling the Kona electric in the Northern states or Canada, where battery pre-conditioning in the winter months is very important.

So, there’s the initial launch in January 2019 in California only, followed at some unspecified point by the other CARB ZEV states, with no clear plan to expand sales beyond those states. With these distribution plans, Hyundai USA clearly isn’t expecting to get a lot of Kona Electrics from the mothership. Add to that the fact that Hyundai is eliminating active battery heating from the Kona Electric for North America, (to save money, I suppose) and I can’t help but get that compliance car feeling in my gut.

And that’s too bad. I like the Kona Electric. Correction, I really like the Kona Electric. So much so that I previously cancelled my Tesla Model 3 reservation and had intended on getting one once they became available in New Jersey. Going on the press drive had two purposes for me. First, of course, to report back here on my initial impressions and secondly, to get a pre-launch test drive and confirm my interest in buying one.

However, the apparent lack of availability, combined with the deletion of battery heating for the US market leaves me a little unsure if a Kona Electric will find its way onto our garage.

Compliance EV? We’ll let you decide.

The lack of battery heating for NA cars is a mistake, but one I expect they'll correct at some point down the road once they can produce enough cars. Still disappointing. I wonder if Kia will do the same with the Niro? It's bad enough that the latter lacks a heat pump, which isn't an issue for routine local use and commuting, but will be for range on road (ski) trips in states like California where temps rarely drop into the teens or below until you're at the ski area, and even then often only at night.

If ANY Canadian with a pre-order deposit can chime in as to any further news on this sad development please do so.I will be approaching my dealer on this but so far I have received no info on ANYTHING other than I am in line.